Firearm fire selector control device

ABSTRACT

A fire control selector assembly in a firearm includes an upper receiver, a lower receiver coupled to the upper receiver and having a trigger group. A selector lever movable between at least two positions is carried outside the lower receiver and includes a fulcrum portion having an axis of rotation centrally located therethrough and a grip portion having a longitudinal axis. The grip portion extends from the fulcrum portion and is offset from the axis of rotation so the longitudinal axis does not intersect the axis of rotation of the fulcrum portion. A selector body is carried inside the lower receiver coupled to the selector lever for rotation therewith and for interaction with the trigger group.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/419,030, filed 8 Nov. 2016.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to firearm control devices and more specificallythe present invention relates to a fire selector control device for afirearm lower receiver.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In semi-automatic and automatic firearms such as the AR15/M16 types, afire control selector lever is employed to interact with a firingmechanism, typically the trigger group, to provide different firingmodes. Selection between various modes, such as safe, semi-automatic,burst, and fully automatic can be provided for the operation of thefirearm. In civilian firearms, the selection is between safe andsemi-automatic settings. Typically, a selector lever is carried outsidethe lower receiver and is coupled to a selector body carried within thelower receiver. The selector lever includes a fulcrum portion and a gripportion extending therefrom. The fulcrum portion has an axis of rotationcentrally located therethrough, while the grip portion extends from thefulcrum portion and has a longitudinal axis which intersects the axis ofrotation. Thus, the grip portion is aligned with and perpendicular tothe axis of rotation of the fulcrum portion. To switch modes, theselector lever is rotated about the axis of rotation, rotating theselector body which extends longitudinally along this axis and interactswith the firing mechanism.

While the conventional fire control selector lever has been used formany years and is very effective, current firearms are often modular andcan support many and varied accessories and non-standard parts. Someparts, which can be used to modify a firearm, can interfere with theefficient manipulation and operation of conventional selector lever.Additionally, the lever can often be difficult to turn, requiringcomplete access to the grip portion to allow application of the mostforce by an individual operator.

An object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved firecontrol selector lever.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fire controlselector lever which has enhanced access and force application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, to achieve the desired objects and advantages of the instantinvention, provided is a fire control selector assembly for a firearmincluding a selector lever movable between at least two positions and agrip portion. The selector lever includes a fulcrum portion having anaxis of rotation centrally located therethrough and rotatable betweenthe at least two positions. A grip portion having a longitudinal axis,extends from the fulcrum portion and is offset from the axis of rotationso the longitudinal axis does not intersect the axis of rotation of thefulcrum portion. A selector body is coupled to the selector lever forrotation therewith between the at least two positions for interactionwith a firing mechanism of a firearm.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and more specific objects and advantages of the instantinvention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art fromthe following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereoftaken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial left side perspective view of a prior art firearm;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the fire control selectordisassembled from the lower receiver of the firearm of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial left side perspective view of a firearm having afire control selector according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the fire control selector according to thepresent invention; and

FIG. 5 is a top view of the fire control selector and selector bodyaccording to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Turning now to the drawings in which like reference characters indicatecorresponding elements throughout the several views, attention is firstdirected to FIG. 1 which illustrate a prior art AR15/M16 style firearmgenerally designated 10. Firearm 10 includes a lower receiver 12 andmating upper receiver 13. Upper receiver 13 includes bolt, cartridgeinsertion and removal mechanism and a firing pin as known in the art. Abarrel 14 is engaged in the front end of upper receiver 13 and a stock15 is affixed to the rear end of lower receiver 12 by some convenientmeans, such as threading into a rear opening in lower receiver 12. Atrigger group of lower receiver 12 fits into a downwardly directedopening in lower receiver 12 and is integrated with the internalmechanism of upper receiver 13 and lower receiver 12 in a well knownmanner. A pistol grip 16 is attached to lower receiver 12 in a wellknown manner. A magazine 18 is inserted into a downwardly directedopening in lower receiver 12 for inserting cartridges into the mechanismwithin upper receiver 13 in a well known manner. A handguard assembly 20is affixed to the front end of upper receiver 13 and surrounds andprotects a portion of barrel 14. A conventional fire control selectorlever 22 is coupled to a selector body 24 carried within lower receiver12. As is well known in the art, fire control selector lever 22 isemployed to select between various firing modes through the interactionof the selector body with the trigger group. The setting can includemodes such as safe, semi-automatic, burst, and fully automatic for theoperation of the firearm. In civilian firearms, the selection is betweensafe and semi-automatic settings.

Referring additionally to FIG. 2, a fire control selector assemblyincluding a fire control selector lever 22 and selector body 24 can beseen in more detail. Fire control selector lever 22 and selector body 24form a two or more position selector switch that is designed to changethe operation of firearm 10. Essentially, a firing mechanism (notvisible) carried by the lower receiver is changeable between a pluralityof selected firing modes of operation by the selector body 24. Selectorbody 24 engages the firing mechanism in a well known manner and will notbe elaborated upon in this disclosure. The operations or positionsinclude: a ‘safe’ mode; a semi-automatic mode; a burst mode; and a fullyautomatic mode. As will be understood by one skilled in the art, themodes available will depend on the type of firearm employed, such as formilitary use or civilian use. Selector lever 22 includes a fulcrumportion 25 having an axis of rotation 27 centrally located therethrough.Lever 22 further includes a grip portion 28 extending from fulcrumportion 25. Grip portion 28 includes a longitudinal axis 29 intersectingthe axis of rotation 27. Thus, grip portion 28 is aligned with andperpendicular to axis of rotation 25. To switch modes, lever 22 isrotated about axis of rotation 25. Selector body 24 extendslongitudinally along this axis and rotated with the rotation of lever 22to provide engagement with the firing mechanism.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an AR15/M16 style firearm 30 is illustrated.Firearm 30 includes an upper receiver 32, a lower receiver 34 and a buttstock 35 that includes adjustment rails 36 that can extend forwardlyalongside lower receiver 34. A fire control selector lever 42 is coupledto a selector body 44 carried within lower receiver 34. As is well knownin the art, fire control selector lever 42 is employed to select betweenvarious settings such as safe, semi-automatic, burst, and fullyautomatic for the operation of the firearm. In civilian firearms, theselection is between safe and semi-automatic settings. Fire selectorlever 42, in accordance with the present invention, is carried by lowerreceiver 34 in the conventional position, which is adjacent rail 36. Ascan be seen in FIG. 1, an AR15/M16 style firearm 10 with a conventionalbuttstock 15 has no obstructions proximate lower receiver 12 which couldimpact access to and the operation of selector lever 22. However, asseen in FIG. 3, the presence of rails 36 limits the space betweenselector lever 42 and rails 36. The proximity of rails 36 can interferewith the use of a conventional selector lever, lever 42 overcomes theseproblems.

With additional reference to FIG. 4, selector lever 42 includes afulcrum portion 45 having an axis of rotation 47 centrally locatedtherethrough. Lever 42 further includes a grip portion 48 extending fromfulcrum portion 45. Grip portion 48 includes a longitudinal axis 49which is offset and does not intersect axis of rotation 47. This offsetaccomplishes numerous objectives, including reducing the force requiredto rotate lever 42 and thus rotate selector body 44 by increasing theeffective lever arm, and the offset downwardly, away from upper receiver32 provides additional space between lever 42 and rails 36 to facilitateaccess. Additionally, grip portion 48 extends from fulcrum portion 45and terminates in an end 50, directed downwardly at an angle. Thisprovides additional space from rails 36 to enhance access thereto.

It will be understood that while lever 42 is shown on the left side offirearm 30, lever 42 can be positioned on the left side or the rightside or both sides for ambidextrous use. The ability of a lever to bepresent and used on both sides of the firearm, either individually ortogether, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,549,982, issued 8 Oct. 2013,incorporated herein by reference.

Various changes and modifications to the embodiments herein chosen forpurposes of illustration will readily occur to those skilled in the art.To the extent that such modifications and variations do not depart fromthe spirit of the invention, they are intended to be included within thescope thereof, which is assessed only by a fair interpretation of thefollowing claims.

Having fully described the invention in such clear and concise terms asto enable those skilled in the art to understand and practice the same,the invention claimed is:

1. A fire control selector assembly for a firearm comprising: selectorlever movable between at least two positions, the selector leverincluding: a fulcrum portion having an axis of rotation centrallylocated therethrough and rotatable between the at least two positions;and a grip portion having a longitudinal axis, the grip portionextending from the fulcrum portion and offset from the axis of rotationso the longitudinal axis does not intersect the axis of rotation of thefulcrum portion; and a selector body coupled to the selector lever forrotation therewith between the at least two positions for interactionwith a firing mechanism of a firearm.
 2. A fire control selectorassembly for a firearm as claimed in claim 1 wherein the grip portionterminates in an end directed downwardly away from the longitudinalaxis.
 3. A fire control selector assembly in a firearm comprising: anupper receiver; a lower receiver coupled to the upper receiver, thelower receiver having a trigger group; a selector lever movable betweenat least two positions, the selector lever carried outside the lowerreceiver and including: a fulcrum portion having an axis of rotationcentrally located therethrough and rotatable between the at least twopositions; and a grip portion having a longitudinal axis, the gripportion extending from the fulcrum portion and offset from the axis ofrotation so the longitudinal axis does not intersect the axis ofrotation of the fulcrum portion; and a selector body carried inside thelower receiver, the selector body coupled to the selector lever forrotation therewith between the at least two positions for interactionwith the trigger group.
 4. A fire control selector assembly in a firearmas claimed in claim 3 wherein the grip portion terminates in an enddirected downwardly away from the longitudinal axis.
 5. A fire controlselector assembly in a firearm comprising: an upper receiver; a lowerreceiver coupled to the upper receiver, the lower receiver having atrigger group; a buttstock extending rearwardly from the lower receiver,the buttstock includes adjustment rails that extend forwardly alongsidethe lower receiver; a selector lever movable between at least twopositions, the selector lever carried outside the lower receiveradjacent the adjustment rails and including: a fulcrum portion having anaxis of rotation centrally located therethrough and rotatable betweenthe at least two positions; and a grip portion having a longitudinalaxis, the grip portion extending from the fulcrum portion and offsetfrom the axis of rotation and away from the adjustment rails so thelongitudinal axis does not intersect the axis of rotation of the fulcrumportion; and a selector body carried inside the lower receiver, theselector body coupled to the selector lever for rotation therewithbetween the at least two positions for interaction with the triggergroup.
 6. A fire control selector assembly in a firearm as claimed inclaim 5 wherein the grip portion terminates in an end directeddownwardly away from the adjustment rails and away from the longitudinalaxis.